Kenya
was the first of the three African countries on the race for my squad. We had already been to three Central American
countries, and another three Eastern European countries. Month 7 in Kenya
offered the most touching ministry experience for myself, hands down. I had
never imagined I would literally be consumed by a ministry. When I wake up in
the middle of the night, the first thing that comes to my mind are the children
that live on the other side of the compound.
Couple
of months after launch, I read about Challenge Farm in Seth Barnes’s book
“Kingdom Journeys”. And I simply thought “it would be kinda cool if my team
gets to work with Challenge Farm when we get to Kenya”, and that was it. I
didn’t pray. Well, I guess God really wanted that for me. The children come
from the street. The lives of these abandoned children are filled with
violence, drugs, broken relationships and broken promises. They lived with no
responsibilities, no boundaries and no direction. Most of them were addicted as
much to aimlessness as they were to sniffing glue and kerosene. They lived in a
world without love, without hope, without a reason to live. Challenge Farm
strives by providing them with a safe and nurturing environment where they can
discover purpose in their lives.
Since
the day we came, I had been spending a lot of time with the children and the
staff. This is probably the first month that I had n’t been limiting myself to
a ‘ministry working hours’. I was free to wake up early and hang out with the
children before their go to their school. Yes, Challenge Farm also runs a
primary school. Those children who are in high school attend other schools in
Kitale or attend a boarding school, and come back to the Farm during break
times.
Lessons learned:
-So God is affirming my heart that I do love children! I thought I only loved infants and teenagers, but no, that is not true anymore. In the past months, I used to soak up my morning time reading my Bible and listening to worship songs in the mornings, but now, God wants me to have less time in devotion and spend more of it with the kids. Because the children happened to be my Bible, and my song.
– Being fully present in ministry pays off. Thank you God for helping to ‘immerse’ myself in the lives of the children and the staff. It gave me a euphoria being around them. No, I wasn’t stressed about other little things, or the future. My stress was “God please send sponsors to the unsponsored new kids”.
-Sponsoring is a great way of being the hands of God, by giving and providing for a needy child. I asked God to lead me to one of the unsponsored kids, since I didn’t feel like picking one by myself. God gave me the beautiful Annastazia, who is 16 years old and in 7th grade. Giving has been bringing joy to my heart. God is going to teach me so much through sponsoring and caring for Anna. Your 35USD/month could pay for the basic needs and school. If you are interested, please contact Challenge Farm at: http://challengefarm.org/
– Sharing and exchanging ideas, values, stories, wisdom from God, and etc is POWERFUL. God had planned for me to interact and invest in the lives of many children and staff members, and I was often praying in my head “God what do you want me to say?” He provided those comforting words, verses, and hugs through me.
– In the last six countries I had been on the race, I didn’t see myself going back to visit. Well, Challenge Farm is convincing my heart I need to be back here to spend more time with the beautiful people and volunteer for God’s kingdom. God, I know you could make it happen, and my trust is in You.
Thank you all for your support and prayers.
God bless you all.
